Summary of Hector A. Garcia's Alpha God

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The majority of the world’s religions portray a god that is fearsome and male. This god is the source of violence and oppression, and his depiction demands reckoning.

#2 God was created in the image of man. Men have historically used God to justify their worst impulses, and this has been evident throughout religious history. Men have sought dominance in the manner of male apes, using violence to obtain evolutionary rewards such as food, territory, and sex.

#3 The god of the Abrahamic religions, and the gods of many other religions around the world, is a dominant alpha male. He has acquired power and used it to control material and reproductive resources.

#4 The premise of this book is that God is not a dominant ape, and that religion is not used to justify out-group hatred or violence. Rather, religion is used to navigate interactions with other humans, and it is these instinctive drives that are behind every form of violence and oppression.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822505353

IRB Media

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Insights on Hector A. Garcia's Alpha God

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The majority of the world’s religions portray a god that is fearsome and male. This god is the source of violence and oppression, and his depiction demands reckoning.

#2

God was created in the image of man. Men have historically used God to justify their worst impulses, and this has been evident throughout religious history. Men have sought dominance in the manner of male apes, using violence to obtain evolutionary rewards such as food, territory, and sex.

#3

The god of the Abrahamic religions, and the gods of many other religions around the world, is a dominant alpha male. He has acquired power and used it to control material and reproductive resources.

#4

The premise of this book is that God is not a dominant ape, and that religion is not used to justify out-group hatred or violence. Rather, religion is used to navigate interactions with other humans, and it is these instinctive drives that are behind every form of violence and oppression.

#5

God is a dominant figure in many religions, and he typically follows patterns of dominance rather than prestige. The Abrahamic god’s use of dominance is robust, and the use of fear to maintain rank is widely documented.

#6

The divine is often described as being omnibenevolent and all-knowing. However, this is not the case for all gods. The gods of the Middle East, for example, were often aggressive and used violence to acquire territory and control resources.

#7

The history of god concepts and religious practices shows how humans have projected their desires and fears onto supernatural beings to explain the natural world. The Abrahamic god, who rose to power through violence and killing, is a product of this history.

#8

As people moved from nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers into larger agrarian societies, their religious needs changed to reflect a new lifestyle. Gods began to more actively regulate social interactions and punish breeches of morality and cooperation.

#9

Gods